Here I’m going to discuss the best graphic design software for complete beginners that will get you started today.
Graphic design is a field that has seen rapid changes in the past few years. The era of the computer and the internet has changed the way designers work. In this article we will be looking at one of the best graphic design software tools online that will get you started for free.
Canva is one of my favorite design tools that I use every day in creating content for digital marketing both on my website and on social media.
Canva Design Software
Canva is one of the most popular graphic design tools online today with over 2 million users from all around the world. Canva is a free tool design platform for anyone who is not an experienced designer. With zero design experience, you can create stunning graphics and videos that you can add to your website, post on your social media channels, email newsletters and much more.
Using easy drag-and-drop technology combined with thousands of pre-made templates to fit every need. Canva makes it easy to create any design that you want with just a few clicks. It is a web-based app and there’s no need to download any program on your computer. As soon as you join you can start designing on the go.
There are no limits on what you can do with Canva. It’s perfect for beginners who are just starting out as well as for professionals who need something simple to use when they’re on the go.
Some of the design features in Canva are:
The templates allow you to create professional looking designs in minutes.
The drag and drop editor allows you to customize your designs with ease.
The fonts allow you to create a variety of designs from a single font.
The text and shapes allow you to create various layouts for your design.
Canva Pricing Guide
Canva has a plan to suit every budget starting with a free account that includes:-
- more than 250 000 templates
- hundreds of thousands of royalty-free photos, graphics and videos
- hundreds of free fonts
- 5GB of storage
The Pro Plan has more – offering unlimited access to premium tools and content. Whereas The Enterprise Plan can be used by a minimum of 25 people and it empowers your team, manage your brand, and scale your content all in one place.
Canva For Non-Profits
Canva Pro is available for free to non-profits.
Canva For Education
Canva Pro is available for free to schools.
Pros and Cons of using Canva
Pros
Canva is really easy to use
Canva promises to make graphics easy for non-designers, and it really delivers on that promise
Its interface is simple and intuitive, and anyone with the most basic of computer skills should not face much of a learning curve from Canva
Canva is great value for money
It also lets multiple users access your account
Canva provides a generous free plan that comes with a significant amount of functionality and a large number of templates and images
Canva makes it easy to stay on brand – allowing you to upload your own log, create your own brand kit and choose your own color palette
Canva is really flexible. It allows you to create a variety of media types
Canva comes with a great mobile app
Cons
The output formats are limited
You can’t back up your projects
There is no phone support – only email support is provided
Canva doesn’t work offline, you need to be connected to the internet in order to use it.
It is important to know what graphic design is and what you can design using Canva and other tools on the market.
What is graphic design?
Graphic design is the art of visual communication and problem-solving through the use of typography, photography and illustration.
Graphic designers are the ones who are responsible for the look and feel of a company’s or website marketing materials. They are also tasked with creating logos, advertisements, brochures, posters and other promotional material. Graphic designers need to have strong skills in color theory, typography, layout design and composition in order to create visually appealing designs.
Graphic designers also need to be able to think creatively as they are given a brief or information about a project before they can start work on it. Graphic designers may work in-house at companies or they may work as freelancers or work on their own business.
Nowadays most bloggers and website owners have now become creative entrepreneurs who design planners, journals, workbooks and templates to sell on their own websites or on other platforms like Etsy, Red Bubble, Creative Fabrica and so on.
Start Creating Planners, Journals and Workbooks
To get your feet wet, here are some designs that you can start with using Canva such as: Planners, Journals and Workbooks.
What is a Planner
A planner is a type of journal which is used to plan and organize one’s life. A planner may be used for scheduling, taking notes, listing tasks, and making lists.
What is a Workbook
A workbook is a book in which the user solves exercises or takes notes. Workbooks are often provided by teachers to their students as supplementary material for their lessons. Workbooks can also be used in several niches. For example in the health and fitness niche, you can create workbooks for workouts and mental health.
What Is a Journal
Journaling or keeping a journal can be done in a variety of ways: by writing down thoughts on paper, recording audio files on an electronic device, or typing text into a computer. Journals are personal and can be about anything that the writer wants to share with themselves and others.
You can also create various templates both for personal and commercial use.
What Templates Can You Create?
Some creators make a lot of money by creating templates for sale to bloggers, website owners and businesses. A business template is a set of guidelines and rules that are used to create new products. It is a framework that helps to establish a company’s identity, brand, and voice. Templates help to streamline the process of creating content for your brand.
A business template can be thought of as an operating system or application software package that governs how you create content on behalf of your company or organization.
It can also be thought of as the foundation of a graphic design that will save you time by simply plugging the template into the software and creating the design of your choice.
There are many different types of templates that can be created when designing your content. The three main types of templates are:
A template based on a specific topic or niche
A template based on a specific type of content (e.g., article, blog post, email, social media templates for Instagram, Pinterest or video)
A template based on a certain writing style (e.g., humorous, conversational)
Presentation Templates
Presentations templates are designed to help you create presentations that will be more effective and engaging.
There are various types of presentation templates available in the market. Some of them are available for free while others come with a price tag. You can choose from a wide range of templates depending on your needs.
Presentation templates can be very helpful for those who have never created a presentation before or want to create one quickly. They also make it easy for people who want to reuse their presentations with minor changes like adding new data or changing the design.
Social Media Templates
Social media templates are a great way to save time and boost your branding and advertising efforts.
There are many ways to use social media templates in your marketing efforts.
You can create your own templates for social media posts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. You can also use social media templates from other brands that you admire or follow for inspiration.
You can also use templates for different occasions such as holidays or events like the Super Bowl or World Cup. Finally, you can create a library of templates to save time when you need to post something new on social media.
Email Marketing Templates
Email marketing templates are a great way for bloggers, website owners and companies to save time when they need to send out mass emails because they don’t have to spend time coming up with new content every time they want to send an email.
Conclusion
Using Canva is a great way to learn graphic design with a valuable tool that is the best graphic design software for complete beginners. It can empower you and your team to produce high-quality visual materials. Canva is really easy to use even if you do not have any formal graphic design skills. However, if you need your designs to be in a very specific format or envisage working offline, then traditional tools like Photoshop may work better for you.
Remember that you can start using Canva for free and make it easy to create stunning graphics.
It is not just for designers. You can be a novice or an expert and still find Canva useful.
It has templates that are ready-to-use and all you need to do is drag and drop your content into the template. You can also choose from hundreds of free images, fonts, and other assets that Canva provides.
The templates are pre-formatted with the right dimensions so you don’t need to worry about how big or small your image should be before uploading it to the tool.
Canva also has a library of free stock images that you can use in your designs.
